When celebrity stylist Meagan Concessio met photographer Sheldon Santos on a shoot in 2020, neither could have predicted that their paths would intertwine the way they did. Fast forward a few years, and the Mumbai-based couple tied the knot in a heartfelt ceremony at St Peter’s Church in Bandra in January 2025.
In an exclusive interview, the newlywed couple takes us behind the scenes of their big day—from all the chaos that comes with planning a wedding to intimate dance rehearsals that made their slew of celebrations unforgettable.
The Proposal
Meagan: We had been dating since 2020 and hadn’t really discussed marriage, so I had no clue at all that he would propose. It happened during a trip to Vietnam in 2023.
Sheldon: We’d moved in together about five months before that. A few days before the trip, the thought hit me: I have nothing to run away from. Why think twice? That’s when I made the decision and started looking for a ring. The property we were staying at was on a mountain. It was beautiful, with clouds coming in and rice fields in every direction. For the proposal, I had pre-booked a picnic and so she got ready because we like to take photos and videos for content. Then the weather turned and there was a storm warning, so we just went for a walk.
Meagan: It was also the morning of my birthday. We were on some swings, recording a time-lapse video, and he started talking. Five minutes in, I thought, oh my God, is he proposing?
Sheldon: I had rehearsed this entire speech, but when the moment came, everything went through the window, and I started stammering. If you watch the video, she’s just swinging, oblivious to what I’m saying. I went down on one knee, pulled out the ring, and popped the question. She just said: “Ya,” and I put the ring on the wrong finger!
The final countdown
Meagan: We didn’t want to rush it, so we got engaged in September 2023 but planned to get married in January 2025. The venue and the date were locked almost immediately after the engagement. But for the longest time, I had a venue and someone to marry, but nothing else. It was only six months prior that we started actively planning the wedding and it was very stressful.
Sheldon: To be fair, we were also very busy with work. But in the end, it all ended up exactly how we imagined it.
Meagan: I went to Australia for work last year, and I visited a bunch of bridal boutiques there to try different kinds of gowns. My cousins, who live in Melbourne, accompanied me for the trials which were really, really fun. Eventually, I settled on a gown by Kyha Studios for the ceremony. I don’t dress very feminine normally, but I wanted to look a little different since it was a special day. I had my dress shipped—which turned out to be a very traumatic experience because they’d put the wrong address and Indian customs can be really difficult. I was so stressed. I wanted to custom-make the veil in India, but I couldn’t start on it because I needed to match the shade of white with the dress. I spent a whole month trying to figure it out with customs, the designer was emailing DHL, but nothing worked. By the end of November, they thankfully decided to make me a new gown and had it shipped to Mumbai just in time. The original dress is probably still lying in a courier office somewhere in Delhi.
Sheldon: Getting my wardrobe in place was a lot easier thanks to Abhilasha [Devnani, menswear stylist]. We sat together for referencing, selected the materials for me and my groomsmen, and she introduced me to her tailor who came home for measurements and my trials. The tailor also helped me make a lining for my reception suit that had a collage of all the cards and letters Meagan had given me over the years. We also got a custom shirt from this brand called Camessi.
Meagan: In Catholic tradition, the couple always gifts the bridesmaids and the groomsmen their outfits because that’s essentially their closest circle. We chose red for the bridesmaids’ dresses, and because Sheldon was in white, we thought of black suits for the groomsmen with red boutonnieres and red lining in the suits.
